Chinese Lunar New Year is the most important holiday in China and is celebrated in several other Asian countries like Vietnam. Festive traditions and beliefs include: Lunar New Year's Eve and New Year's Day feature family rituals like a night of unity, reunion, harmony, and paying respects to ancestors. Kind of like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Rockin' Eve all rolled into ... Continue Reading
Fun Foodie Experience: Chinese Lunar New Year Cultural Dinner 2019
Join Natalie and Margaret for a fun, relaxing and oh, so tasty, evening out to celebrate the Year of the Earth Pig at their 8th Annual Chinese Lunar New Year Cultural Tasting Dinner! New Year Traditions, New Friends, Good Food! Recover and rejuvenate from holiday shopping and bling frenzy. Take a break from the cold weather with warm smiles and a warm tummy. Come one or ... Continue Reading
Buford Hwy Food Tour (private Corporate group)
Buford Hwy Food Tour (private Corporate group). Contact us for details and book your own group and date! Always fun, tasty and great for team-building, client relations or birthdays, special occasions. See videos below. Watch us on CNN feature video: Start Small, Think Big Award-Winning Chinese Southern Belle Food Tours, Buford Highway: Beyond a Yelp Review ... Continue Reading
Tickets Going Fast: Perfect Foodie Gift Experience – Chinese Lunar New Year Cultural Banquet!
Ni Hao, Y'All! Join Natalie and Margaret for a fun, relaxing and oh, so tasty, evening out to celebrate the Year of the Canine at their 8th Annual Chinese Lunar New Year Cultural Tasting Dinner, Year of the Earth Pig! New Year Traditions, New Friends, Good Food! Recover and rejuvenate from holiday shopping and bling frenzy. Take a break from the cold weather with warm ... Continue Reading
Add an Asian Fusion Twist to Your Holiday Table!
From our table to yours, a few delicious ways to add a little Chinese Southern Belle fusion twist to your holiday dishes, from appetizers to entrees: Wasabi Butter Mashed Potatoes - YUM! Mix a squirt (2 tbs) of wasabi paste or powder into your mashed potatoes. Color your stuffing: mix in 1/2 cup of Wild Sweet Black Chinese Rice or Red Vietnamese Rice Glazed, Gingered ... Continue Reading
CNN Start Small, Think Big: Chinese Southern Belle Shatters Stereotypes
In this CNN "Start Small, Think Big" feature, an Atlanta-based entrepreneur, Natalie Keng and her mother, public schools Teacher of the Year, Margaret Keng, are infusing flavors of the Far East with the Deep South and in their custom interactive events and award-winning, family-recipe cooking sauces "opening minds, one mouth at a time" and shattering stereotypes. Ni ... Continue Reading
Easy Asian Home Cooking with Natalie: 1-Minute Stir Fry on TV
Eating healthy doesn't mean only salads. Chinese stir fry isn't just oily "drowned in brown sauce" takeout. Authentic Asian home cooking doesn't have to mean hours of chopping, shopping or require special equipment. One only needs a wok and cleaver. Natalie Keng of Chinese Southern Belle, to the rescue! Watch as she simplifies and demystifies the seemingly simple, but ... Continue Reading
Fusion at its Best: Asian Cuisine Experts, Teachers, Food Historians
Fusion at its Best My Mom: Country Asian Chef and Teacher of the Year My mother was born in Hunan, China, grew up in Taiwan, and immigrated to the U.S. to attend graduate school. Her dream was to become a journalist but decided to became a schoolteacher. First landing with a host family in Houston, Margaret got her first job working in the law office of her dear “Jewish ... Continue Reading
Media Interview: Intergenerational Businesses Unite Food, Family, Culture
Teaching with mom: 'Priceless' Sharing stories about family and how they've influenced our journeys or inspired "less than traditional" career choices or start-up businesses--from childhood favorite dishes like Pepper Steak and Rice-a-Roni to working in the family restaurant after school --this is our heritage and what grounds us. Read more Intergenerational Businesses ... Continue Reading
Cooking Class: Chinese Dumplings & Pot Stickers, Hands On
Excited about our newest cooking class venue and partner: Learning Kitchen by Preserving Now @ Sweet Auburn Curb Market! VERY LIMITED SPACES--REGISTER NOW Hands-On Chinese Dumplings & Pot Stickers! Impress your friends and family and learn to make delicious, healthy, homestyle Asian Dumplings and Pot stickers- 2 WAYS - popular pan-fried with thin ready-made wrappers ... Continue Reading
Joy of Being Yourself: Authenticity in Food & Life
Natalie shares how her cooking style and recipes reflect family, a sense of place, and heritage as a Chinese American and Southerner. “As a little kid, I thought it was only about being Chinese,” she says. “That's what I was teased about, so that's how I defined myself – foreign, different, un-American. In actuality, as a native Georgian, I'm not only more American, but ... Continue Reading
Earth Day Every Day: Grains of Wisdom: Sustainable Rice Cultivation
When most of us think of rice fields, we vision expanses of flooded rice patties, Asian peasants with traditional conical hats, knee-deep in muddy waters, planting rows upon rows of seedlings... There is a movement a-field that is impacting how rice is grown around the world for the better. S.R.I. (system of rice intensification) is a sustainable method of growing rice that ... Continue Reading
Leave It To Cleaver: 5 Best Chinese Veggie Cleavers for Your Kitchen
At our house, dinner meant family recipes cooked with fresh, local ingredients. Mom always boasted that she could prepare an 8-course meal using only a wok, pair of chopsticks, and a cleaver. She did everything with her favorite cleaver–slice, dice, shred, chop, tenderize, bang, even scoop! After a full day working as a public schools teacher, Mom whipped up fast, healthy ... Continue Reading
HANDS-ON Asian Chinese Cooking Class: Perfect Stir Fry + Authentic Fried Rice
NEW Winter Chinese Cooking Classes: Perfect Stir Fry, Asian Dumplings Farm to Wok: The Perfect Stir Fry + Authentic Fried Rice – Home Chef Secrets– from nuts to bolts, plus busy cook shortcuts: overview & introduction - food, cultural history, nutrition Shopping Seasonings Condiments Cutting techniques & tools Busy Cook Shortcuts Vegetarian, ... Continue Reading
Lunar New Year Holiday Celebrations Around Town, Cultural Dinner Photos
THANK YOU for a fantastic event at our sold-out Chinese Lunar New Year Cultural Dinner with almost 200 guests! Everyone raved about the 8 custom traditional courses, Margaret's creative, artistic calligraphy and fun (competitive!) Chopsticks Races. It was a fun night of camaraderie, scrumptious food, new friendships and culinary, cultural history. Proceeds supported local, ... Continue Reading